Soldier shoots man with machete trying to enter Louvre in Paris

A French soldier on Friday shot and wounded a man armed with a machete after he tried to enter the Louvre Museum in central Paris, Paris prefect Michel Cadot said.

machete attacker carrying two backpacks attacked soldiers while trying to get into the museum underground shop before being shot and seriously wounded, Cadot said.

The "aggressive" man yelling Allahou Akbar (God the Greatest) menaced soldiers who were securing the capital's landmark museum in a context of high terrorist risk, he added.

The attacker whose identity remains unknown, slightly injured one serviceman before the other soldiers fired five bullets at him, according to Paris prefect.

"There was also a second individual who was behaving suspiciously, who has also been detained, but for now there does not appear to be a link between that individual and the attack," he said.

Cadot added that no explosives have been found in the man's bags with operation underway to ensure security in the area.

In a statement, the public prosecutor opened an anti-terrorism inquiry into the attack which Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said it "obviously of a terrorist nature."

Police cordoned off the area where circulation is suspended. Louvre official held 250 visitors in safe place and will be evacuated in small groups.

France has been the target of terrorist groups in response to its military operation in Syria, Iraq and Sahel region.

A recent attack, claimed by the Islamic State, claimed 86 victims when a man drove a truck into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day in the southern city of Nice last summer. Endit